DARPA solicits help to combat counterfeit components

DARPA, a US defence research body that is not quite known outside of that country, has published a call for proposals to develop a component as close to being microscopic, which can be attached to system components to help identify and combat counterfeit and suspect electronic parts.

Counterfeiter components are pervasive in the defence supply chain. Counterfeiters target both high-ticket chips and components that cost pennies. Worse, system failures associated with fake parts can lead to loss of life and failure of military missions.

In 2009 and 2010, more than 1,800 cases involving more than 1 million suspect parts were linked with known supply chain compromises, according to a May 2012 Senate Armed Services Committee report. "China is the dominant source country," the report said; more than 70 per cent of the suspect parts the committee tracked through the supply chain were traced back to that country.

The new DARPA Supply Chain Hardware Integrity for Electronics Defense (SHIELD) programme is calling upon engineers to develop a tool that will verify protected electronic components without disrupting or harming the system. DARPA programme manager Kerry Bernstein said in a press release:

SHIELD demands a tool that costs less than a penny per unit, yet makes counterfeiting too expensive and technically difficult to do. The dielet will be designed to be robust in operation, yet fragile in the face of tampering. What SHIELD is seeking is a very advanced piece of hardware that will offer an on-demand authentication method never before available to the supply chain.

DARPA said the proposed system would need to overcome and address with 100 per cent assurance a comprehensive list of realities that inhibit the performance of electronic components, including:

? Clones and copies, which may be of low quality, or may include hidden functionality

? Components that are covertly repackaged for unauthorised applications

The programme calls for the development of a dielet, a small (100 x 100 microns) component that "authenticates the provenance of electronics components." The proposed component would incorporate a full encryption engine, as well as tampering sensors.

The resulting component would be affixed to the components being protected and would be scanned for information. It would not maintain an electrical connection with the host component. The dielets could be scanned individually or in batches. The information would be stored and shared in a centralized server, which would send a challenge to the device to confirm that no tampering has occurred.

DARPA plans to host a Proposers' Day Workshop in support of the SHIELD programme on Friday, March 14.